The Eighth Year Itch
by KikiGray
Summary: Set in 8th year. Hermione returns to Hogwarts without Ron and Harry, she finds an unlikely friend in a green eyed dark haired Slytherin by the name of Theodore Nott. Regular updates to come
1. Maybe a Little too Calm

Hermione sat on her bed in the new dorms that Headmistress McGonagall had organised for the returning 8th years, an empty vial of calming draught in her hand. She could do this; she didn't need Harry or Ron here with her. The war was over, Hogwarts was safe again and she would have a normal school year. Yes the four houses would be sharing an 8th year dorm. Yes she would be living with the Slytherins. Many of whom are the children of people who tried to kill her. Many of whom bare the dark mark. But she could do this. She was Hermione Freaking Granger and she could do this.

Pulling herself off her bed Hermione inspected her new room, she was thankful to find that she was no longer sharing, with each returning student being given their own room. It was rather large all things considered. There were no room allocations so everyone had rushed to select their rooms. Hermione had picked the last door down the hall without taking a second glance as to who her neighbour would be. When she walked in she immediately had become overwhelmed and had to sit down but now she could appreciate the layout and overall design. A sole canopy double bed lay to the right of the room a note lay on the bed from the Headmistress telling her she had unknowingly selected the largest room due to its location, her trunk sitting at the end of it. Just beyond that she could see a door, which she soon discovered to be a closet. She made her way anticlockwise around the space. The room was shaped almost like a hexagon, her bed on one side, the closet, a bookcase resting against the next, followed by a beautiful arch window that had a small love seat to rest upon and a view of the Lake. There were only two sides left now, both of which contained doors. Hermione stood facing them. The left led back to the hallway, but the right, what could be there as she had already found her closet.

Taking a deep breathe she grasped the door knob and walked in, a sigh of relief washed over her as she looked at the bathroom before her. A glorious claw foot tub sat in the back centre of the room, a shower to the back left and what she assumed was the toilet the back right. The floor was marble and white, the fixtures a shimmering silver. Without thinking she headed towards the door on the other side of the bathroom. Opening the door to find another bedroom and a very scantily dressed man in nothing but his boxers.

Upon hearing the intrusion the young man turned around to find Hermione standing there her jaw ajar as her eyes took in every inch of his body.

"Get a good look Granger?" he replied smoothly pulling on a pair of sweat pants, raising a single eyebrow at the Gryffindor Princess.

"Nott, I, Sorry" she looked everywhere but his eyes as her cheeks flushed but she found herself unable to move.

She was looking better these days he noted to himself, not as thin and sickly as she had after the final battle. Though he supposed he was probably much the same in that respect the war was hard on all of them.

"Look Granger not that I mind, but, I'd like to take a shower and get settled, so unless you plan on joining me?" he raised his eyebrow again and smirked in true Slytherin sense as he begun to walk toward the bathroom, Hermione slowly stepping backwards with each step he took.

Hermione barely noticed as he slipped his hand behind her back to manoeuvre her through the bathroom until she was in her room again and he stood in the doorway. Removing his hand he placed his hand on his hips where his pants rest looping his thumbs underneath on each side before slowly pulling them down so he was in his boxers again.

"Now do I need to ward the door? Or are you capable of learning to knock before entering?" he chuckled lightly.

"I can manage that, just, let me know when you're done." Hermione steeled her face and took deep breathes.

"Done." And with that he slowly swung the door shut, dropping his boxers with enough speed that Hermione was able to get a glimpse of his bare backside before the door closed.

She stood stunned for a moment, registering everything that had just happened. She could hear the water begin to run and had to remind herself to breathe she slowly listed everything off in her head. She went into the bathroom. She walked into another person's room unannounced. There was a boy basically naked. A Slytherin boy basically naked! Oh god she had to spend the year sharing a bathroom with Theodore Nott! He had touched her, flirted with her, and she didn't stop him. In fact she kind of liked it.

That's it she needed Ginny.

 _ **A/N: This is my first Themione fic, my first 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **year fic and my first fic where I plan to keep it on a daily schedule. Please bear with me, review and follow. I hope you like it. Note that I have previously uploaded this story, since then I have made a few changes but I still love this story.**_


	2. Shower Time

"Hermione! Nott really? I mean, I will give you that he is fit, but Nott?" Ginny's eyes were wide as she took in the news her best friend had just given her.

Hermione had blundered her way through the encounter that had transpired between herself and Nott. As it had happened, Ginny had discovered she was sharing a bathroom when Hannah Abbott had come to knock on her door asking if Ginny wished to shower first before the feast. Needless to say, Hermione's interaction was far more interesting. As they sat on Ginny's bed Hermione could feel her face becoming flush at the mention of Nott being fit.

"He was flirting with you, Mione? A _Slytherin_ was flirting with the Gryffindor Princess? That, in itself, is a miracle. Even if you leave out the fact that his father tried to kill you on multiple occasions, it still seems unlikely. Are you sure you aren't reading too much into this?"

"I am not crazy Ginny, I know what he said." Sure she wasn't as obviously beautiful as Ginny, but Hermione failed to see why a member of the opposite sex might not find her attractive enough to flirt with, Slytherin or otherwise.

After her brief conversation with Ginny, Hermione returned to her room to find the bathroom door open. Peaking her head through, she found Nott standing in front of one of the basins brushing his teeth, a towel slung low on his hips. Biting her lower lip softly she entered the room.

"Back so soon? I thought you might have run off for good." He shot her a playful wink and rinsed his mouth. "Bathroom is all yours," and then he was gone.

Hermione waited a moment to make sure he would not re-enter before stripping down for her shower. The warm water soothed her aching muscles as she tried to calm her breathing and not think about how she should have warded the door. Nott could walk in at any moment. She looked at her wand on the bathroom counter and inwardly cursed herself for not bringing it into the shower. She was exposed. Well not entirely, she could perform wandless magic but not enough to stop him if he came in there with force.

 _You won't need to,_ the voice in her head told her; _you can trust him._

Hermione shut her eyes tightly wondering where that thought had come from. Trust him? How could she trust him? A Slytherin, son of a death eater! Maybe Ginny was right and she was overthinking it.

 _But he doesn't have the mark, does he?_ She thought back to his naked body just moments ago, she focused her mind onto his left forearm, mentally scanning his body. Sure enough there was no dark mark.

There was a knock at the door and Hermione opened her eyes, only now realising that she was somehow on the floor. When had that happened? She had been standing just a moment ago. What time was it? And why was the water so cold? There was another knock before the door swung open and Nott came barging in. Her mind jumped to the worst conclusion and she prepared to defend herself before noticing the white fluffy towel in his hands as he came toward her. Wrapping her up, he proceeded to carry her toward her bed before gently placing her down.

"Granger, Granger! Dammit it Hermione can you hear me?" his voice was frantic as he looked into her caramel eyes. "Hermione answer me please."

She willed her mouth to open, for her voice to speak, "Nott what are you doing get out!"

"Hermione do you have any idea what time it is?" she looked around the room confused, trying to avoid eye contact with him. "Hermione it is ten o'clock at night."

Looking to her alarm clock she realised he was right. She had missed the entire feast. She was shaking now as the cold night air filled her room. Without thinking Nott placed his arms around her and pulled her to his side for warmth.

"You have no idea how much you scared me when I opened that door and heard the shower still running." His voice was barely a whisper.

"Thank you." Pulling herself from his embrace she walked toward the bathroom to retrieve her wand and see him out. She glanced at her reflection and saw her lips were blue and her face ghostly.

"I'm not leaving till the elves bring you something to eat." Nott said sternly still sitting on the edge of Hermione's bed.

"Then you will be here all night, they won't come for me." She muttered.

"Maybe not for you, but they will for me. Tipsy!" he called before a pop was heard and a small elf stood in Hermione's room.

"What can Tipsy do for Master Nott?"

"Tipsy could you please bring some food up for Miss Granger? She missed dinner."

The elf turned giving a disgruntled look at Hermione before turning back to Nott. "For you Master Nott, anything."

The food arrived shortly after the elf had gone with a pop. Nott stood there and watched her eat until he was satisfied with how much she had eaten then banished the dishes back to the kitchen.

"We will talk about this tomorrow, Granger. Now, get some rest." He tucked her in rather kindly and then left closing the door behind himself.

She wanted to fight it, to go after him and thank him again for noticing she was gone, for his panic at finding her and for making sure she ate, it was very un-Slytherin of him she thought. But her eyes began to droop and sleep took hold of her.

 ** _A/N: I want to thank you all for the support and love, please keep reviewing and following along, I love hearing your enthusiasm. Special shout-out to my new Beta Kikistone._**


	3. Screams in the Night

She woke up to the sound of screams. Bewildered and confused, Hermione looked for the source. The screams came again and she carefully slid out of her bed to follow the noise. It was coming in through the slightly ajar door to the bathroom. Walking into the bathroom Hermione found the door to Nott's room open. His screams echoed off the tiles as she slowly padded her way towards his room.

She found him thrashing in his bed, the sheets twisted around his thighs. If she was being honest, he looked as though he was under the cruciatus curse. When his cries did not subside Hermione, rather boldly, crawled onto his bed, pulling him into her lap. Running her fingers through his hair, she softly cooed at him that it was okay, he was safe now, the way she had done many times this summer with Harry. It wasn't until he stopped screaming and curled into her embrace that she had realised what she had done. Very carefully she slid out from his embrace and made her way toward the bathroom, she thought she had made it out unnoticed but then she heard him speak.

"Granger?" his voice was soft and hoarse from his cries. "What are you doing?" his eyes held such pain and, if she had to guess, embarrassment.

"I have them too, the nightmares I mean. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, return the favour from earlier." She kept her breathing steady as she looked at him. She hadn't admitted to anyone that the nightmares still came, that each night she would see Bellatrix's face in her dreams wielding that cursed blade. Her hand went instinctively to her neck where her scar was.

"I'm so sorry, I put up silencing charms, I don't know how you heard me…" his voice trailed off, his mind lost in his train of thought.

"The bathroom doors were open."

"Again my apologises, I got up earlier to use the facilities and popped my head in to check you were okay." His face became flushed as he looked at her, "thank you."

Hermione nodded her head politely and made her way back to her room. This time she sealed her bathroom door. It wasn't that he was proving untrustworthy; it was more that she didn't like the idea of him being able to enter her room whilst she slept. She waited a while to see if she would hear more screams tonight and when she did not she allowed herself to drift back to sleep.

Hermione rose with the sun, her skin glistening from the sweat of a nightmare she wished to forget. Making her way to the bathroom she peaked her head through to find Nott still asleep and sprawled out every which way. Once she was showered and dressed she prepared herself for the first day of classes: Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Potions and then Double Transfiguration. She looked forward to classes where she wouldn't have to keep an eye on Harry and Ron, where she could lose herself in her note taking and not worry about the judgment of her friends. She packed her book bag and grabbed her Gryffindor scarf, draping it carefully enough to appear as though she had just tossed it on but strategically enough that it covered her scar, with that she was ready for the day.

Hermione made her way to the hall and sat with Neville, Dean, Seamus and Ginny. When asked about last night she said she was tired and just went to bed, there was no point in worrying them. Her eyes scanned the Slytherin table, her caramel searching for his green and when she found them her heart skipped a beat. He was watching her whilst listening to Malfoy prattle on about something, feeling brave she smiled and was pleasantly surprised when he nodded his head and smiled back in acknowledgment.

"What was that?" Ginny whispered in her ear having watched the exchange.

"Nothing Gin, talk later." With a quick kiss on the forehead she was off towards runes.

Hermione liked being early to class, it meant she could choose where she wanted to sit and that there was no chance of her being tardy if something happened along the way. She went to walk through the door when her body collided with that of another student. Falling to the ground, she felt a hand reach out to catch her. Looking up she saw a familiar pair of green eyes staring down at her; they paused for a moment just staring into each other's eyes until they heard a cough.

"Granger, will you stop making eyes at my best friend, we would like to enter class." Malfoy's voice held no malice in fact it was almost friendly as he pushed through the two of them and through the door. "Theo, get a move on."

With that, Nott loosened his grip and followed Malfoy into the classroom taking the seat beside him. Hermione paused at the back of the room for a moment trying to decide where to sit, by the time she made her move Terry Boots and three more Ravenclaws had entered the class room along with Susan Bones. Hermione took the chair next to Susan, which just so happened to be the desk next to Malfoy and Nott.

They worked in silence once the class started, but every so often Hermione would sneak a glance to her left and smile when she saw Nott was looking at her too. She didn't know what had come over her, but she seemed to be developing some strange kind of connection with the tall, green-eyed Slytherin and she wasn't too sure how she was going to deal with it. When class was over she began packing up her things when a note was slipped on her desk, she looked up to see his retreating form before smiling and picking up the note.

 _We need to talk. Library. Now._

Glancing down at her watch she saw she only had fifteen minutes before Arithmancy, _this had better be quick_.

 _ **A/N: yay another day another chapter, we are slowly getting a little deeper into the characters now and I hope you are enjoying it. As always read, review, follow, favourite. And if you have any questions feel free to PM me.**_


	4. Thestrals

Hermione marched towards the library with a sense of urgency. _This is crazy_. Her Arithmancy class was around the corner from the Ancient Runes classroom yet here she was on the other side of the castle going to meet the mysterious Slytherin. Harry and Ron would scold her beyond belief if they knew what she was doing. _Why am I doing this?_ Surely whatever Nott wanted to discuss could have waited until lunch or even the end of the day; after all, they did share a bathroom so it wasn't like she could avoid him. She pushed open the doors to the library and looked around. Empty, the place was completely empty. The blood rose to her cheeks as she stalked forward to see if he was by one of the study tables off to the side. She was half way there when she was pulled into a nearby aisle. The urge to scream overcame her but a hand was placed gently on her mouth, muffling her cry.

"Calm down, Granger. It's just me." Nott's voice was soft and low in her ear. "If I take my hand away, will you yell?"

Hermione shook her head and he released his grasp on her, "okay Nott, what is it?" she asked somewhat tempestuously, tapping her foot on the floor as she looked at her watch. He had better not make her late.

"Look about last night…" he started hesitantly.

"It's fine Nott. You helped me, Merlin only knows why, but you did and so I helped you. It was a war, Nott; everyone has his or her scars, even your lot. It's as simple as that. Can I go now?" she turned to leave but felt him reach for her hand.

"I thought you were dead. I thought you were dead and I couldn't leave you there. I didn't know how long you had been like that."

She stared shocked by his openness with her. He could have just said thanks.

"I found my mother."

"I know, thestrals remember?" this was not at all Slytherin-like; her magic tingled as she prepared herself for the trap she felt must be coming. Slytherins did not just openly talk about their feelings, especially not with Muggleborns.

"Right. But what you don't know, what only a few know really, is that I found her in the shower." his face paled as his green eyes closed and a tear travelled down his cheek. "White as a ghost, the water still running…."

And then it clicked. It was as if a light bulb went off in Hermione's head, this had nothing to do with her. The care he took with her, the nightmare, all of it. She had made him relive his mother's death, he had found her the exact same way and suddenly it all made sense.

"I'm sorry, Nott. I didn't know…" Her voice was barely above a whisper as she moved toward him. She instinctively placed a hand on his cheek.

He shivered at the touch of her cold skin, turning his head away. "I just thought I'd clear up the situation, that's all." The mask was back in place now. The all too familiar, 'I'm a Slytherin and nothing touches me' mask.

She watched him leave as she wondered if Ginny was right and had she made up this entire connection between them in her head. Except, she was sure she had felt it; when her hand grazed his cheek, there was this undeniable feeling of… well… she couldn't even describe it. Looking to her watch again Hermione let out a huff, she was going to be late. Stupid Slytherins.


	5. 5 point from Gryffindor

"Five point deduction from Gryffindor for Miss Granger's tardiness."

By the time she had reached Arithmancy, she was over five minutes late; with a huff Hermione placed her books on the first available spot. Sitting down she turned to face her desk mate and found Nott, who was staring at her with confusion in his eyes. After their chat he assumed she would keep her distance, not take to sitting with him. Hermione, however, thought nothing of it. When she looked around the room she found that the seats that remained vacant were all on the right side of the desk; being left handed sitting down where she had was the only feasible option. Hermione was irritated by how quickly Nott had gotten to class; after all, he had left only a few seconds before she did and yet at no point had their paths crossed.

Professor Vector handed out the assignments and made it clear there was to be silence in her classroom. They worked amicably for the next hour, occasionally glancing at one another. Growing increasingly frustrated at the equation in front of her, Hermione took her right hand from the table, letting it dangle lazily off the side of her thigh. At first she thought she imagined it but then it happened again, and again. Nott's hand was grazing her hand in a semi-affectionate manner. It was if he was almost attempting to soothe her out of her agitated state. Hermione was nervous to move, her heart pounding as she was became uncomfortably warm. If she moved her hand would he think she was snubbing him or, worse even, that she was trying to actually hold his hand. The more Hermione thought on it, the more flustered she became. Nott could see the heat rise up to her cheeks each time his hand grazed hers.

"Looking a bit pink there, Granger" his voice was barely audible and he didn't look up from his work but his tone was somewhat flirty; Hermione could even see a shadow of a smile on his face. "You okay?"

Hermione's face changed quickly; it went from embarrassed to calm as she composed herself and tried to think of a justification less mortifying than the probability of her enjoying the feel of his skin on hers.

"Thank you for your concern, Mr Nott, I assure you I am fine, it's just a bit warm in here." She shot back impishly.

Using her left hand, not wanting to take her right hand from him, she pulled off her scarf placing it down on the floor next to her book bag.

"Much better." She replied angling her body slightly more towards his.

Nott turned to look at her and noticed it straight away, the long cut down her throat. Malfoy had told him about it after it had happened, but he had never seen it since she always kept it cover with the help of a scarf or jumper. When he had found her in the shower, he had been too preoccupied to actually take in her features; but here and now in the daylight he could see it. Instinctively, he slowly lifted his left hand and, with delicateness that made them both trembled, ran his fingers down the angry line the blade had left. Nott didn't realise he was leaning into her until there was a cough from behind them. Snapping out of their daze both Hermione and Nott turned to find Professor Vector standing behind them.

"Well, if you two are quite finished, class is over. Off to lunch now."

With blood flooding their cheeks, they looked around and realized that they were, indeed, the only ones remaining in the classroom. Gathering their belongings quickly, they made sure to never even glance in the direction of the other. They were out the door and gone in seconds. Professor Vector stood there quietly for a moment and thought to herself; _well this should be interesting._

 _ **A/N: I am so sorry for the delayed updates, hoping that time (both mine and my lovely Betas) allow then I may be able to do some double chapter days to get us back on track, Speaking of which; I believe in giving credit where credit is due and I would like to hugely thank my Beta, KikiStone, for her help this chapter. It was a structural mess that I just couldn't seem to work out in my head and she came in and fixed it to exactly how I envisioned it. If you haven't checked her out yet, her story is Malfoy Marriage Act, so go check it out!**_


	6. Scars on display

After Nott had touched her scar so affectionately, Hermione had felt brave enough at lunch to lose the scarf and leave her scar exposed for once. Her eyes left his; it was as if they were in a trance. Hermione was so captivated by his stunning green gaze that she didn't even notice people were staring at her. In fact all eyes in the great hall were on her, even the stormy grey stare of Draco Malfoy.

"Well, well, Granger is feeling courageous today, isn't she Theo?" Malfoy's voice was soft as he whispered to his best friend.

"She complained about feeling warm during Arithmancy." Theo shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly hoping that Draco wouldn't push the subject. "I guess she decided to roll with it."

"And how do we know that? Been keeping an eye on the Gryffindor Princess there, mate?" Blaise Zabini chimed in, nudging Theo in the ribs jovially. "Watching her take her clothes off?"

"Not everyone is a perv like you," Nott pleaded to Salazar for the blood to not rush to his face and give him away "I know because she ended up seated next to me, Zabini"

"Right, sure Nott, I totally believe you. After all, you only share a bathroom with the girl; and it's not like she just happened to walk straight into your room…" Zabini quipped.

"Merlin, Drake!"

"Sorry, mate, didn't realise that was meant to be a secret." Malfoy took a bite out of his apple and hid his smirk. He could tell there was clearly more to this story than the little Theo was willing to share in front of Blaise.

Once lunch ended, Theo headed to his next class only to find Miss Hermione Granger already sitting at a desk. He waited a moment before deciding to take the seat next to her. Hermione turned and smiled before pulling out her textbooks and preparing to take notes. It wasn't long before Theo found himself caught in his own thoughts.

She was so confident in her movements and the way she carried herself; it really was no wonder that people followed her during the war. She was smart, caring, resourceful and beautiful. _Wait what? Beautiful? Where did that come from_? He shook his head and pulled out his own textbook.

Theo and Hermione quickly figured out they had both qualified for the same NEWTs and thus had the exact same class schedule. Making the most out of it all, they silently sat together the rest of the day and, once the day was over, mutely walked back to their dorm. The unspoken connection between them lingered after the Arithmancy class, but when they arrived at their corresponding doors they turned to look at each other and, without a single word, went their separate ways.

Unbeknownst to the other, in the solitude of their rooms, both Hermione and Theo slid down their bedroom doors till their heads rested on their knees.

"This is not good." They whispered and sighed in unison.

"Fuck, where is Draco."

"Oh Merlin, I need to tell Ginny."

 _ **A/N: So in this one was written a little differently, I wanted to show it more from Theo's perspective. For those who are confused by using "Nott" in other chapters and more "Theo" in this one, it was more to show the difference in relationships. When Theo is with his friends he is just that, Theo; but, in terms to their relationship/friendship he is Nott because there is still that distance even though she is nearly always Hermione as Theo and other purebloods are trying to show that they see her as a real person and not the Mudblood they were taught to believe she was. Short chapter but it's really a build up for the next two. The next chapter will be from Theo's perspective, and the one after that from Hermione's.**_


	7. We need to talk part 1

Theo picked himself up and rushed back out the door and straight into Hermione. Looking flustered and mumbling apologies as the each made their way down the corridor to their respective best friends' rooms. Theo couldn't help but wonder if Hermione had felt the same connection he had. If she was rushing to Ginny for the same reason he was rushing to Draco.

He walked into Draco's room without knocking and instantly wished he had as Draco was not alone, clearing his throat loudly and covering his eyes, the young Miss Astoria Greengrass squeaked as she removed herself from Draco's lap. They had been sitting in the loveseat of his window, thankfully still clothed.

"Theo, mate, it's called knocking, ever heard of it?" the platinum blonde boy quipped.

"Semper Custodiat" was all Theo had to say and Draco was ushering Astoria out the door with a chaste kiss telling her he would see her later.

Growing up in the world they had, with their fathers view and both being only sole heir to their families. Draco and Theo had developed a close bond, they were like brothers. As such when the time came for emergencies wherein they needed their "brother" they would say Semper Custodiat. A seemingly harmless phrase to those who knew Latin but to them, it meant they needed help.

"What's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?" Draco examined every inch of his best friend, looking for where the might be injury.

"I'm in trouble Drake, big trouble."

Theo sunk down onto the bed and began replaying the events of the last 24 hours. How he came back from dinner and found her on the floor in the shower, how he had checked on her in the night, how she had climbed into his bed and ran her fingers through his hair to calm him after his nightmare, telling her about his mother, their hands touching, touching her scar and this feeling of connection between them.

"Fuck…"

"Took the words right out of my mouth Drake, what do I do?"

"Nothing, you do nothing. You wait for her to make the first move. He who moves first loses."

"This is a fucking game Draco, she is a person, a beautiful smart incredible person!"

"Believe it or not I understand that but you seem to have forgotten, apparent chemistry aside. We just finished a war. Of which we were on opposite sides."

"You on the opposite side, I wasn't and you know that."

"I might mate but she doesn't. Your father tried to kill her. And I am not just talking through the regime I mean he literally and directly tried to kill her."

"I know okay! Despite how this may look I am not a complete idiot."

The two young men had not fought like this since Draco had called Hermione a Mudblood in second year when the chamber was opened and had said he wished for her to be the basilisk's next victim. It was then that they realised that despite being raised by fathers with the same views, they were two very different people. Draco wanted to make his father proud and Theo never wanted to never become his. Since then Theo had become Draco's sense of right and wrong, unfortunately sometimes he would not listen.

"What am I meant to do then? Just hope she decides I might be good enough? She's too smart for that both you and I know it. Besides she is currently in Weaslette's room and you know that is talk is not going in my favour."

"I am sorry mate, you deserve happiness. You deserve the best and I will deny I ever said it, but for you especially, that means Granger."

The sat in silence until it was time to go down for dinner. Theo didn't know what he was going to do next but he knew this year just got a whole lot more complicated.

 _ **A/N: I'm back! Oh my goodness to I owe you all so many apologies. My life went through some major changes the last few years and I just lost my drive to write. But I'm back and hopefully I can get back on track with this story.**_

 _ **For those of you too lazy to look it up Semper Custodiat is Latin for protect always. I chose this because they will always protect one another, whether that is from the outside world, their fathers and as I snuck in from chamber of secrets, themselves. Draco always seemed so conflicted to me when I read the series so I wanted to give him someone he could turn to, who was on his side (both in terms of house allegiance and friendship) but who had an opposing view and could call him on his shit. Anyway hope you like it and next up is Hermione.**_


	8. We need to talk part 2

Hermione picked herself up and rushed back out the door and straight into Nott. Looking flustered and mumbling apologies as the each made their way down the corridor to their respective best friends' rooms. Hermione couldn't help but wonder if he had felt the same connection she had. If he was rushing to Malfoy for the same reason he was rushing to Ginny.

She watched as he walked straight into Malfoy's room without so much as a knock, shaking her head she tapped three times on Ginny's door. As the door in front of her opened so did the one behind her, Astoria Greengrass was now shuffling down the hall back to the Slytherin common rooms.

"What's up Mione?" the redhead chirped, obviously having had a good first day of classes.

Her thoughts were slightly askew, "What's with Malfoy and Greengrass?"

"Marriage contract, they are in the courting phase, though she technically isn't allowed to be alone with him, especially not in his bedroom"

Hermione raised an eyebrow, curious to the customs, Ginny shrugged "Purebloods are weird"

"Very true, but not the reason I came here."

"I figured as much, so spill."

"I think I'm in trouble Gin."

Hermione paced around the room as she began explaining everything that had happened. How Nott came back from dinner and found her on the floor in the shower, how he had checked on her in the night, how she had climbed into his bed and ran her fingers through his hair to calm him after his nightmare, telling her about his mother, their hands touching, how he not only didn't flinch at her scar but had touched it affectionately and this feeling of connection between them.

"I just can't explain it Ginny, I just feel drawn to him. I'm so stupid." Hermione sunk to the floor at the foot of Ginny's bed.

"You're not stupid Hermione. Perhaps have terrible taste in men, but that doesn't make you stupid. Firstly are you okay? Why did you pass out in the shower? Why didn't you tell me? Also you got in his bed? There's that Gryffindor courage."

"I am fine, just too much calming draught, I didn't want to worry you. And I didn't realise what I had done till I did it so shush. What do I do Gin?"

Ginny paused for a moment, "that depends, what outcome are you wanting? If you want the feeling to go away then nothing, you ignore him, you don't speak to him or sit with him. But if you want to see where this might lead, for which my brother and boyfriend may murder us both just so you know, then you will have to make the first move."

"What, why do I have to make the first move! He's the boy!"

"For two reasons, firstly, feminism missy you shouldn't have to wait for him and secondly, he is a Slytherin, need I say more, they don't exactly put themselves on the line. You really think shy Theodore Nott is going to risk looking like a fool to ask out the Gryffindor princess? Add in the fact his dad literally tried to kill you…"

"Yes yes I remember, I was there. I hate that nickname. " Hermione huffed.

"I know you do but we are talking the snakes here, they deal with perception as reality. Least you managed to pick a hot one without the dark mark."

Both girls couldn't help laughing at that "Always with the silver lining Gin."

"Always, now, let's figure out what you are going to do."

Hermione sat in silence as Ginny started running through a million and one plans as to how Hermione could approach Theo. Most of which involved some skimpy outfit or public display of affection, needless to say these ideas were shot down pretty quickly. Though sitting there listening to Ginny, Hermione was thankful to have the redhead in her life. Who despite everything they had gone through, all the people they had lost, Ginny was always ready to forgive if it meant happiness for those she cared about.

 _ **A/N: so you probably noticed that some of the wording is the same to the previous chapter, such as the opening paragraph and the rundown of what happened. This wasn't me being lazy I promise it was to create a bit of symmetry between the two chapters as they are two halves of a whole. Also there is a point to me bringing up pureblood customs, just bear with me and it will all make sense eventually.**_


	9. Dinner Time

The bell chimed for dinner. Rising from their places in each room, the four of them found themselves entering the hallway at the exact same time. Nott looked at Hermione, Hermione blushed and looked at Ginny, who was looking at Malfoy trying to see if he knew what was going on between the unlikely pair, but Malfoy was too busy watching Hermione and Nott to notice her stares. They all stood there in silence for a moment, until Hannah Abbott came rushing between them to head to the great hall.

Snapped out of their daze Nott found his words first. Taking a step back he said "Ladies first" gesturing that the hall was theirs.

Ginny stifled a laugh and grabbed Hermione by the arm and pulled her down the corridor. As if beyond her control Hermione looked back towards Theo and mouthed thank you.

"Well that went well." Draco mused to his best friend. "Can we eat now?"

Sitting at their own house tables the four kept close watch on one another. Eating mostly in silence, too focused on what might happen on the opposite side of the room. McGonagall rose to speak as dinner was wrapping up.

"Welcome back again students. I trust your first day of classes were enjoyable. We have a special announcement, this year in addition to the feast, on Halloween we will also be having a ball for fourth year students and above. Please be advised third years may attend if asked by an appropriate year level. More details will be released in the coming weeks. That will be all this evening."

This was it, the chance they both needed, a viable excuse to ask one another out. The only question was who would make the first move. Both had been given the same advice, that given the situation and history, Hermione should be the one to initiate any type of relationship. As to whether or not she had the courage to do so she was unsure. Their eyes locked on each other, she was wondering what was going through his mind, she smiled at the thought that he might be thinking of her and was pleasantly surprised to find him smiling back at her. This brief exchange had not gone unnoticed by their two best friends. Ginny raised an eyebrow at Malfoy, who simply nodded his head as if to confirm the feeling between the pair was indeed mutual.

Dinner had ended and the 8th years made their way back to their dorm. Dean, Seamus and Neville were sat in front of the fireplace of the common room along with Hannah Abbott, Terry Boot and Susan Bones. Their faces alight with laughter.

"Hermione, Ginny, come join us. We are going to play truth or dare." Neville mused, waving over his friends.

"I'm in!" Ginny announced confidently as she went to join them. "Hermione?"

Hermione looked down and realised she was still in her uniform from the day, having not changed before going to speak with Ginny. "Let me get changed and I will be down in 5."

She rushed upstairs throwing on a singlet top and a pair of old track pants. Pulling her unruly hair up off her neck and into the messiest of buns she walked into the bathroom. This was the longest she had ever gone with her scar exposed and she was quite enjoying not worrying what people might think. There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." she called

"Sorry" he mumbled, "just wanted to brush my teeth before bed."

Hermione looked at him closely as he begun brushing his teeth, he really was something. She had never taken much notice of the quite Slytherin before, having tried to avoid them all as best she could but there was no denying his beauty. He was perhaps, even more beautiful than Draco Malfoy. She had been staring at him for far too long now, he raised his eyebrow at her.

"Yes?"

"A bunch of us are going to play truth or dare, you and Malfoy should join us." She watched as he looked at her as if waiting for the punch line of a joke that never came.

"Sure… I'll just go grab Drake." And with that he turned from the bathroom and left.

Hermione felt a little frazzled but quickly brushed her teeth as well, as if almost wishful thinking. She made it back down to the others before Nott and Malfoy arrived with Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini in tow, giving her enough time to let the others know she had asked them to join. Dean and Seamus were sceptical at first but just one look from Hermione and they conceded. Ernie Macmillan, Padma Patil and Luna had also come to down to play.

They sat in a circle so that everyone could see one another. Hermione smiled as she noticed that each house was here, 5 Gryffindor, 3 Ravenclaw, 3 Hufflepuff and 4 Slytherin. All in all not a bad mix, she was just hoping that this would all go smoothly and past animosities could be left aside and the game would remain friendly.

Luna cleared her throat, her melodic voice as soft and innocent as always "Shall we begin? I'll ask first, Hermione, truth or dare?"

"Truth." Hermione felt safe, this was Luna after all, she would probably ask about some obscure random creature that no one had any idea about.

"Who was the last person to see you naked?"

Well fuck…

 _ **A/N: I know I know the old truth or dare but come on it's an 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **year fic, I had to. Anyway I hope you like this little filler chapter as it leads in to a longer, more fun one. Once again thank you for reading, following, favouriting and review. Means a lot.**_


	10. Truth or Dare

The room erupted in laughter, at first glance it appeared Luna's question had amused everyone, but if you looked closely you could see the panic behind not only Hermione's eyes but of three others in the room. Ginny, Draco and Theo. Hermione steeled her face and prepared to lie.

"Wait, before you answer," it was Susan who spoke now and with a wave of her wand she cast two spells over the group. One Hermione knew, this would prevent them from chickening out of their dares the second she didn't know "Nisi vero loqui, there now no one can lie."

And with that Hermione's only chance at preventing at best a lot of questions, at worst a fight were gone.

"I, uhh, umm." She couldn't find the words so they started to guess.

"Ron, it's gotta be Ron right?" Dean and Seamus mused.

"It could be Harry? No offence Ginny" Ernie said shyly.

"Well hold on then what about Ginny?" chimed in Padma and Hannah.

She found her voice. "Nott"

"Not what? You're not answering? Oh come on Hermione that's not in the spirit of the game." Neville said naively.

In that moment Daphne gasped in shock, Blaise then began to laugh, Draco shifted his body as if to protect Theo next to him. It was Ginny who answered Neville.

"No Neville, she means Nott." Gesturing towards the Slytherin who had sunken in to himself.

Then came the yelling. Dean and Seamus were on their feet rushing across the circle at Theo who was now safely surround by a wall of Slytherins and to the surprise of most of the people in the room, Ginny. Threats were flying and wands were drawn.

"Stop it, all of you, just stop it." Hermione shouted placing herself in the middle of the group. "Everybody just sit down, it's not what it sounds like."

Slowly the lions retreated back to their side of the circle, but Ginny instead chose to sit on the other side of Theo not trusting the fight was over. The other houses watched around sceptically, this was not their fight but they were damn interested to hear the explanation to this one.

"What the bloody hell Hermione!" it was Seamus who spoke now, his face still red in anger.

"Not that it is anyone's business, Nott…" she cleared her throat feeling slightly brave. "Theodore and I happen to share a bathroom. I happened to have fainted during my shower last night missing dinner and he found me. Nothing more."

She felt and odd tingling in her mouth, almost like a small shock. Susan seemed to be the only one who noticed the small wince but kept this to herself. Was Hermione lying, there was nothing more to how and why he had seen her naked that much was true, but was there nothing more than that between them.

"Let's get back to the game?" Daphne added sheepishly. "Hermione who do you pick?"

And so the game went on, Hermione picked Padma who picked truth.

"What was it like having your twin in a different house?"

"It was definitely difficult at times. Parvati and I were inseparable before Hogwarts but after we got sorted we drifted apart. I held a lot of jealousy towards Lavender for a long time as it felt like she had replaced me and that Parvati had no time for me because of her. But also a lot of resentment towards Fred and George. They got to stay together and we didn't." a tear running down her cheek she quickly wiped it away.

Terry wrapped his arm around Padma and pulled her in "we still love you bookworm."

"Okay enough sadness, Susan, you're up. Truth or Dare"

"Dare." The room broke out in 'woos' for our first dare of the night

"I dare you to kiss the most attractive member of EACH sex in the room, on the lips."

Susan blushed as the boys cheered. She looked around the room surveying the options. After a minute she nodded her head and stood, strolling towards the group of Slytherin boys, bending down placing a quick peck on Blaise's lips. His face smug as he winked at her. This was no surprise to many in the room; Blaise had been known to have a bit of a reputation with the ladies. What was surprising was that Susan then walked toward Hermione, placing a kiss on her lips.

"Interesting" mused Ernie

"I like 'em smart." Joked Susan before turning back towards Blaise, "well I guess not always"

Laughter filled the air; even Blaise cracked a smile at the joke. "Least I'm pretty." He laughed.

Terry was next, he chose dare and instantly regretted it as Susan told him to set his potions homework alight.

"You're having a laugh right? You must be joking." She shook her head and giggled as he ran upstairs to retrieve it.

Smiling to himself, he took a deep breath and cast incendio. Padma gasped at her fellow raven but he shot her a reassuring glance before selecting Seamus.

"Truth"

"I'm curious. Gay? Straight? Bi? Any and all in-between?" Terry asked with raised eyebrow.

"Seriously Terry." Said Hannah, seeing the uncomfortable look on Seamus' face.

"That's the game." He replied

Taking a deep breath Seamus answered "Bi."

This is not the way he had envisioned coming out of the closet, and he was hurt that Terry had done this too him, he was about to get up and leave when Terry spoke.

"Me too." He announced proudly. "Also sorry, I was unaware you weren't out as of yet."

Seamus nodded his head "It's fine, about time I did anyway. Okay Slytherin Princess, you're up. Truth or Dare Greengrass."

"Dare." She answered without a second thought.

Daphne was the kind of girl that was everyone's type. Long raven hair that came down to her backside, full pink lips and glowing green eyes set on pale skin. The older sister to Astoria, the Slytherin was often underestimated. She was however as fierce as any lion. Snakes protected their own. The proud and somewhat smug look was wiped off her face as soon as it came though.

"Cut your hair."

"WHAT!" she squealed. She started running her fingers through her hair protectively.

"Shay, come on!" this came from Ginny who know too was stroking her own long hair, she felt for the Slytherin, she would be pissed if someone made her cut her hair.

"What's a matter scared snake?" he taunted her.

"You wish." And with that she accio'd a pair of scissors, looked Seamus dead in the eye before picking out a single strand of hair and snipping less than a cm off the end.

He looked at her in disbelief, once again the room was in laughter.

"What? How?" he was mad now "She cheated."

"No lion, I found a loophole, you may want to choose your words more wisely next time. I cut my hair. Not my fault you didn't specify how much hair to cut or the length. Just like I am fairly certain Terry duplicated his homework in his room before he set it on fire. Am I correct?"

"That you are my love." Terry laughed, raising his glass to the cunning girl.

"Now that we are all up to speed and ready to play properly. Ginny, truth or dare?"

"Dare"

"I dare you, to strip naked and run to the great hall and back, now, no wand, no using your hands to cover yourself."

"Bring it on!" Ginny stood up and began to strip, Padma cast a charm that would allow us to see what Ginny was seeing, as proof that she was doing the task without us having to leave the common room.

Years of Quidditch had served Ginny well. Amidst wolf whistles and cat calls she was gone in a flash, sprinting towards the great hall, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't be caught. She was almost home free when she saw Professor McGonagall straight ahead, hanging a left she went the long way back and made it back safely.

Huffing and out of breath, she reached for her clothes. "Nice one Daphne. Malfoy, truth of dare?"

He hesitated for a moment, knowing either way he was royally bolloxed. "Truth I suppose."

"What is your biggest regret?"

He didn't speak, he just pulled up his sleeve on his left arm, the angry dark mark staring back at the group.

"Believe it or not, your parents don't always know what's best." He muttered glumly, Daphne placing her hand on his knee sympathetically. "Ernie, pick your poison."

Ernie picked dare and was made to switch clothes with a female in the room. Ginny volunteered considering everyone had already seen her strip naked. A fact she would not be divulging to Harry. Neville was next, selecting truth.

"Have you ever been in love?"

Neville blushed and nodded his head. "Yes. Hannah, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Kiss me."

"I thought you'd never ask!" she smiled sweetly, making her way over to him before sitting in his lap and kissing him passionately. Instead of returning to her seat she stayed in his lap. "Blaise. Which do you pick?"

"Oh my sweet little puff. Truth."

Hannah was not one to allow his patronising tone to pass. "How many people have had the unfortunate experience of sharing your bed?"

"Are you asking me how many people I have shagged?" she nodded in reply. "10, 8 ladies, 2 gents."

Blaise shot Terry a wink and he shook his head at the Slytherin. Draco looked completely taken aback by this revelation.

"Why is this the first I am hearing of this?"

"Maybe because you were too busy being obsessed with red over there's boyfriend. Now Theo, truth or dare?"

Theo knew this was bad, who knows what Blaise would come up with if he chose dare but he knew what the alternative was. He knew that Blaise would ask him about Hermione, about seeing her naked and that was not something he was ready to share. Not with Blaise, or Hermione, least of all not the entire room.

"Dare."

"Snog Granger."

Shit, he knew this would happen.

"And I mean like a proper snog, none of this peck on the lips bullshit."

Theo looked over to Hermione and she nodded as if to tell him it was okay. Ginny was awkwardly seated between them, instead of making the pair move she got up and went to sit next to Luna. They slid closer to one another, their eyes never looking away. Theo leant forward and asked if this was okay, her voice was barely a whisper as she told him it was and then his lips captured hers.

The room melted away as soon as their lips met, it was the cliché of fireworks erupting around them as the fell in to their own little world just the two of them in this moment. Her hands in his hair, his on her cheek. He slid his tongue across her bottom lip and she breathed him in allowing him to slip it in to her mouth. They were unaware how long it had been when they finally broke apart. Their foreheads still touching, their eyes closed.

"Is it hot in here or is it just me?" Susan said fanning herself with her hand.

"Nope, not just you that was pretty hot." Dean laughed before being swatted by Seamus.

Gaining his composure Theo straightened himself up. "Glad you enjoyed the show Thomas. Truth or Dare."

"Truth."

"Who was your first."

"Seamus."

There was silence in the room, no one knew what to say. That is until Ginny spoke.

"Fucking knew there was something going on between you!" her and Dean burst out laughing.

"It was after we dated Gin, swear. Lucky last Miss Luna. Tru…"

"Dare" the feisty blonde cut him off.

"Okay then. Tomorrow morning you are to go to breakfast in a Slytherin school robe. Only a school robe"

"Deal" she giggled.

They sat up talking for a few more hours, the game had brought them closer together and had revealed a lot. But Hermione couldn't take her eyes of Theo. Her mind swimming with their first kiss. Eventually they all called it a night and went to their rooms with Blaise not so discretely slipping into Terry's. Seamus and Dean laughed with Dean saying they should have been smarter and got adjoining rooms like him and Seamus, shooting Theo a wink. Neville walked Hannah to her door and gave her a kiss goodnight. When they reached the end of the hallway Theo and Hermione paused to look at one another before saying goodnight and entering their separate rooms.

Hermione lay awake wondering if she should have kissed him goodnight too, or how was it all just for the game and she had built it up in her head. She was still awake staring at the ceiling when she heard his screams. Without hesitation she leapt out of bed and across the bathroom into Theo's room. Doing as she had the night before she climbed onto his bed and began to run her fingers through his hair. This time when the screaming stopped she didn't rush to leave but kept playing with his hair.

He pulled himself closer in to her side. "Hi."

"Hey there, you okay?"

"Bad dream. Not a bad way to wake up though." He chuckled softly, rising to sit next to her. "Thank you. Again."

"That's okay." Feeling bold she kissed his cheek and rested her head on his shoulder.

Silence filled the room.

"Will you stay for a while? Until I fall back asleep." He hated asking, he felt so vulnerable but he was just so comforted by her presence.

"Of course."

They lay back down together his arms wrapped around her, Hermione's head resting on his chest. Theo fell asleep first. She contemplated removing herself from his arms but decided she wanted just a few more moments. Her eyelids grew heavy and she thought she would close them just for a minute.


	11. The Aftermath

Hermione woke the next morning and was startled by her surroundings, an arm wrapped protectively around her waist. She suddenly became very aware of the warm body pressed against her back. This was not her room. Memories of last night flashed through her brain. Annoyed with herself for falling asleep she carefully picked up Theo's arm and slid out, from under it. Placing it down gently on the bed she shuffled towards the bathroom door. She thought she had made it until she reached for the door handle.

"You don't have to do that, sneak out I mean." His voice was like velvet it sent a tingle down her spine.

"I wasn't… I … okay I was. Sorry." Blood pooled in her cheeks.

"Don't be, it's the best I have slept in years." He smiled brightly at her.

"Me too." And she wasn't lying, not a single nightmare had plagued her last night. "I better get ready for breakfast."

Her heart was a flutter, it wasn't that she was ashamed she had stayed in his room; it was more she was embarrassed she had fallen asleep when he hadn't asked her to sleep over; he had only asked that she stay until he was asleep. There was something safe in his embrace. She flitted around her room quickly, grabbing everything she would need for the day. She looked at the clock by her bed and realised she had slept later then she thought. Rushing out the bedroom door she bumped into Theo.

"We really have to stop meeting like this." He laughed bending down to pick up her books.

"Thank you" she blushed as their hands touched.

They walked in silence to the Great Hall. Their bodies almost touching but not quiet. When the entered Theo turned to face her.

"Meet you back here to walk to class?"

"Okay" a giggle escaped her lips, what was going on with her she was never the giddy school girl type.

They sat at their separate tables, watching one another, smiling like love sick children. It wasn't until a loud cheer erupted through the Great Hall that they looked away. It was Luna. She was, as dared, completely naked bar a Slytherin robe. Dean was sitting next to Hermione and could not control his laughter.

"She actually did it!"

"Well she didn't have much of a choice" laughed Ginny.

"Whose robe did she steal?" wondered Neville.

Followed shortly behind Luna was Daphne, in her school uniform wearing Luna's Ravenclaw robe. Professors Flitwick and Slughorn came rushing towards Luna. They spoke in unison her.

"Miss Lovegood where are your clothes, did someone play another prank"

Miss Lovegood that is not your house robe, you know you aren't allowed to wear that."

She ignored Professor Flitwick's question as to whether she was still being bullied and smiled at Professor Slughorn. Her voice airy she replied

"Sorry Professor" and began to drop the robe, revealing her naked body.

Both men squealed and averted their eyes, telling her to cover up. Daphne came to stand behind Luna and took her to go switch their robes back and get changed for class. The bell for first period rang and everyone begun to leave.

"Well that was eventful, wasn't it" Theo whispered in Hermione's ear sending a chill down her spine.

"Quite, time for class Mr Nott."

"After you Miss Granger."

Feeling bold he took her hand and they walked together to class. Unbeknownst to them both Ginny and Draco were watching on, smiling at the unlikely pair. This year was going to be an interesting one.

 _ **A/N: just a short one for you today, thank you for all the reviews, follows, favourites. It makes my day to see my inbox full of these notifications. Trying to keep the updates as regular as possible but I do have a 3month old so some days she keeps me too busy to write or post.**_


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